The American dream is one that is deferred. Just like the Younger family in Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun,” many Americans are waiting on a check and already know what they want to spend it on.
Gov. Bobby Jindal said at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington last week that the Obama administration has assaulted the American dream. Jindal said that the president is attempting to redefine success in America through government dependence.
Uncle Sam has picked up my tab a time or two. I ate reduced-priced lunches in grade school. I got Pell grants when I came to LSU. I also receive the TOPS scholarship. I understand the benefits of government assistance.
But there is a time to hop off of the governmental gravy train.
Social welfare is an excellent thing and should be present to assist Americans in times of need and provide them with tools to become successful. Everyone gets down and out, and sometimes it’s more extreme than others. But from what I see in the workforce and outside the walls of the University, folks are stretching out their hand not for help getting back up, but to have a few U.S. dollars placed in their palm.
I grew up in a neighborhood where many people received government assistance such as food stamps and commodities. However, these were the same individuals who would do odd jobs to stay off of the IRS grid and use their money for a case of Budweiser instead of the electric bill. It seems this is now a prevalent occurrence.
This is not solely a problem that began with President Barack Obama as Jindal said, but one that has snowballed greatly in his time in office. There is a strange sense of entitlement that has come over many Americans. It is the false notion that because they live in America, they should not face any adversity and deserve a reward for the challenges they have endured. The promise by politicians has become happiness and not the pursuit of it. No one can promise that, and no one should expect it.
Jindal also said Obama was not doing enough to help improve the country’s educational system and millions of students are trapped in failing schools. These are big words coming from the governor of a state that ranks quite low regarding the nation’s education. This is possibly because of the ridiculous rates of poverty in Louisiana, which hinder the success of children early in school and thereafter.
More social welfare is not the answer to ending poverty and generating prosperous schools and students. The answer is not an algorithm or equation of numbers. It is not within a political party either. People like you and me created the American dream. Jane and John Does who bent over backwards to provide for themselves and others constructed it. Therefore, we can rebuild and revive it.
Never be afraid to ask for help, but it is nothing a person should make a habit of. People are capable of more than they think.
The governor said at the conference that the best years for America are ahead of us and not behind us. I cannot help but agree.
Justin Stafford is a 21-year-old mass communication junior from Walker, La.
Opinion: Yes. Change in mentality will save the American dream.